TOKYO (Reuters) - A U.S. Marine faces a court martial on
charges of kidnapping and raping a 14-year-old schoolgirl on
Japan's southern island of Okinawa in February, U.S. military
officials said on Friday.

The case prompted thousands of Okinawan residents to rally
last month to protest against crimes by U.S. troops and demand
a smaller U.S. military presence on the island, host to about
half the nearly 50,000 U.S. military personnel in Japan.

The U.S. troops are stationed in Japan under a bilateral
security treaty that is the pillar of Tokyo's post-war security
policy, but those who live near the bases often complain about
associated crime, noise and pollution.

U.S. Marine Sergeant Tyrone Hadnott was arrested by police
in February on suspicion of raping the girl, but Japanese
prosecutors dropped the case after she withdrew her complaints,
a move some in Okinawa said was to escape the public spotlight.

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Hadnott has been charged under the U.S. military justice
code with rape and abusive sexual contact with a child under 16
and kidnapping through inveigling, the U.S. Marine Corps in
Okinawa said in a statement.

"The above are merely accusations," the Marines said. "The
accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty and has the
right to a fair and impartial trial."

No date has been set for the court-martial.

Four other U.S. Marines from a base in southwest Japan also
face court martial over the rape of a Japanese woman last year.

LtGen. Edward Rice, the recently arrived commander of U.S.
troops in Japan, said earlier this month that he would demand
high standards of behavior after the high-profile allegations
against U.S. servicemen, including the rapes and murder.